


Secrets

by RuArcher (Coriesocks)



Series: Shipmas 2018 [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Boys Kissing, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, Fluff, Getting Together, Hogsmeade, M/M, Shipmas 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 17:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16814989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coriesocks/pseuds/RuArcher
Summary: Scorpius goes with Albus to watch the Christmas lights get switched on in Hogsmeade and gets more than he bargained for.





	Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> The first of my Shipmas 2018 fics. Thanks to LittleRose13 for the wonderful prompts and also beta-ing this little ball of christmas fluff

Scorpius loved Christmas at Hogwarts. Everything was just so…Christmassy. Everywhere he turned looked like a scene from a Christmas card and he wanted to remember every detail. Not that he could see much right now; it was barely five o’clock, but it was already dark. He wrapped his scarf more securely around his neck and tucked the ends into his thick winter robe so they didn’t flap about in the wind. It was snowing again, but not heavily, the delicate flakes settling on Albus’ dark bobble hat like icing sugar on a cupcake. He snorted, thinking about what Albus would say if he called him a cupcake to his face, and then spun around, tilting his face to the sky, feeling the gentle kisses of snow flakes on his skin.

“Come on, Scorp. Stop fannying about. We want to get a good spot,” Albus urged, pulling ahead of Scorpius and yanking on his sleeve to get him to follow. The footpath was thick with students and teachers heading down to Hogsmeade and Scorpius had to lengthen his stride to avoid getting left behind. 

“Coming, Cupcake!”

Albus turned and frowned at him. “What?”

“Nothing! Just trying something out. It clearly didn’t work though, so I expect it won’t happen again.”

When it had been announced that Aubrey Desaan and Fletcher Launton from the Horned Toads were coming to Hogsmeade to turn on the Christmas lights, the whole school had gone crazy. The Horned Toads were the most popular wizarding boy band of the moment; their debut album had flown off the shelves and they’d had at least one song in the wizarding charts every week since its release over a year ago. Scorpius didn’t actually rate them all that much—he preferred music with a few more guitars and a few less choreographed gyrations—but Albus was a secret Toady. He’d not admitted as much to Scorpius, or anyone, but Scorpius had found a copy of the album stuffed under Albus’ pillow a few months ago. He’d vehemently denied owning it of course, so Scorpius had put it out of his mind, until, that was, he’d found a stash of magazine cutouts and posters of the band in Albus’ bedside table. He’d never told Albus about that discovery; it was obvious he’d not wanted anyone to find his stash and after the way he’d reacted to Scorpius finding the album, Scorpius was wary about upsetting him again. So he kept his mouth shut and hoped that one day, Albus would open up to him and admit that he liked a cheesy pop band. 

“So, why exactly do we need a good spot?” asked Scorpius after drawing level with Albus. His breath puffed out before him in little white clouds, lit up by the orbs McGonagall had ordered cast over the footpath. Scorpius had been subtly trying to get Albus to admit his ‘Toads obsession ever since the announcement that they’d be in Hogsmeade, but Albus had remained tight-lipped on the matter, either deflecting the questions or feigning ignorance.

“So we can see the lights being turned on, obviously,” Albus answered with a put-upon sigh, as if Scorpius was the one being deliberately evasive.

“I fail to see why we need a ‘spot’. The lights will be everywhere, and McGonagall said we’d have an hour to hang out in Hogsmeade afterwards so it’s not like we won’t see them all.”

Albus shrugged, the motion just visible under the thick cloak and scarf around his shoulders. “Yeah, but we don’t want to get stuck near a bunch of first years or a teacher or something.”

“Hmmm, I suppose you’re right. And you’ll want to get a good view of those, um…Lumpy Frogs, is it?” he asked innocently.

“Horned Toads,” Albus corrected immediately. His cheeks looked flushed, but it could have been the cold. “Don’t pretend you don’t know their name. You go on about them enough. It’s bloody ridiculous. You probably fancy one of them,” he grumbled.

“I do not!” Scorpius cried, stung by Albus’ blatant deflection. “I’m not the one who had their record hidden under my pillow.”

“I told you it wasn’t mine! It’s…it’s Lily’s!” Albus snapped.

“Oh, really?” Scorpius had had enough. Why couldn’t Albus just admit the truth? “And the band posters and magazine articles in your drawer? I suppose they were Lily’s too?” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Albus reeled as if slapped. “You went through my things?”

“You said I could look for some parchment! You didn’t specify that certain drawers were off limits! You should have been more explicit in your instructions!”

“Who keeps spare parchment in their bedside table?”

“Me!” Scorpius screamed, his voice shrill. “You know I do that!” 

People were staring now, clearly wondering what they were yelling about, but Scorpius didn’t care. He pushed past Albus and marched down the hill towards the village, not sure where exactly he was heading, but knowing that he needed to get away from Albus bloody Potter and his secret boy band obsession. Several students grumbled their annoyance as he shouldered through gaps in the crowd, but he didn’t acknowledge them. It was taking everything he had to keep his frustrated tears at bay.

He hated that Albus was being so secretive about this. He’d thought they shared everything, but if Albus couldn’t even admit to liking one stupid pop band to his  _ best friend _ , then what else might he be keeping from him? Did he even know Albus at all? Scorpius had long since accepted that Albus was a very private person, but he had thought that he, at least, was the one person who knew Albus inside out. He’d kept nothing from Albus.  _ Nothing _ . Except…well, there was the small matter of the little crush he’d developed on him over the years; a crush that consumed pretty much his every waking thought and all of his dreams too, but he’d only kept that to himself to avoid ruining their friendship. Albus had been the first person he’d told when he thought he might be gay and it was Albus who had given him the courage to tell his father, and to be true to himself even when some students had acted negatively once his sexuality became common knowledge. So why, then, couldn’t Albus follow his own advice and be himself around Scorpius?

Quite without realising how he’d got there, Scorpius found himself in the village square, surrounded by milling groups of students. There was a small stage set up to one side with a podium in the middle, and all around the square Scorpius could see darkened strings of lights, hooked along roof edges, between houses, around trees, and on storefronts. A rather large, ominous looking Christmas tree towered over the square from its position beside the stage and Scorpius stared up in awe at the star just visible at the top. It would surely look spectacular once the lights were on. He started to think that maybe Albus was right, and that there  _ was _ a good spot for watching the lights. A frigid gust of air whipped the snow around him in a flurry and he shivered, wrapping his cloak more tightly around himself. He wished Albus were with him. Why had he gone and brought up that stupid band?

The square around him was slowly filling up with students, all chattering and laughing with their friends, some clutching mugs of steaming Butterbeer or hot chocolate purchased from one of the stalls around the edge. There was a brass band playing a mixture of Muggle and wizarding traditional Christmas songs, and snow swirled around, dusting everything with white. It was all so lovely, so  _ Christmassy _ , but Scorpius felt wretched. He’d snapped at his best friend, stormed off in a huff, and now he was alone and miserable and surrounded by excited, happy people. He raised up on his toes to see if he could spot Albus in the crowds, but even with his lanky frame, it was impossible to see anything now night had properly fallen. Everyone looked the same in their black school robes, and even the house colours of the hats and scarves were hard to distinguish between in the dark.

He could feel panic start to claw at his chest. He hated not knowing where Albus was—it brought up too many memories of that awful time when he’d almost lost him for good. He couldn’t decide if it would be better to stay where he was and hope Albus could see him (he had the advantage of being taller than a lot of students so perhaps Albus would spot his head poking above the crowd), or to try and methodically work his way around the square to search for him, and hope that Albus wasn’t doing the same. And there was every possibility he wasn’t in Hogsmeade at all. He could have gone back up to school—he was a pretty champion sulker when the mood struck him—so Scorpius started to wonder whether he should head back himself.

Before he could make a decision either way the noise around him changed and a loud cheer broke out, punctuated with whoops and screams. The crowd surged towards the stage, sweeping Scorpius along with it, and he noticed that there were now two rather handsome young men standing beside McGonagall and Professor Longbottom. One of them had long flame-red hair, which was being whipped around his head by the wind, almost giving the impression of real fire. He wore a thick fur coat and leather trousers, but his chest was bare, and the sight alone made Scorpius shiver anew. The other man was dressed slightly more appropriately—meaning he at least had less unnecessarily exposed flesh—but he was still under-dressed as far as Scorpius was concerned. He wore a skin tight black t-shirt and ripped black jeans, with black leather jacket thrown over the top. His hair was so pale it was almost white, and unlike his band mate, it was short and tidy, with the sides closely cropped and the top swept back into a quiff. From the position he now found himself in—much closer to the stage than he’d intended—Scorpius could even make out a lip ring. He was, objectively, a very attractive man but—not that he wanted to toot his own horn or anything—there was a rather striking resemblance to, well, to the face Scorpius saw in the mirror each morning. 

The people on stage started talking—or shouting, more accurately—but Scorpius could barely hear what was being said over the screaming fans despite the  _ Sonorus _ . Besides, he was still concerned about Albus, and the mass of people pressing in on him from all sides was doing nothing to soothe his panic. He craned his neck, desperate to catch even a glimpse of that beautiful, grumpy face, but it was even harder than before to see anything now everyone was squashed together in their eagerness to get close to the stage. Then, just as he was about to give up and go back to Hogwarts, Scorpius finally spotted him standing in a quieter spot at the edge of the crowd.

“Albus!” Scorpius yelled excitedly, ignoring the few glares he got from those around him. “ALBUUUUS! I’m here!”

He jumped up and down, waving his arms in the air, but Albus was too busy watching the men on the stage to see him. Grunting in frustration, Scorpius pushed his way through the crowd earning even more angry glares from the people who had to move out of his way. As he drew nearer, Albus finally looked around and saw him, and his face lit up with relief, a grin stretching across his lips; one that was matched by Scorpius.

As soon as he was close enough, Scorpius flung his arms around Albus’ shoulders and buried his face in the crook of his neck. “I’m so sorry for storming off,” he said, his voice muffled by Albus’ scarf. “And I don’t care if you like the Toad band or not, I really don’t.”

He felt Albus’ arms enclose him and he relaxed into the hug, the tension draining out of him. He felt safe with Albus. Nothing else mattered.

“I’m sorry too. I’m sorry for yelling at you for finding those pictures…It’s just…it’s embarrassing,” Albus mumbled.

Scorpius pulled back so he could see Albus’ face, but he was staring at the ground, resolutely avoiding his gaze. “I told you, I don’t care what bands you like. I wish you didn’t think you had to keep secrets from me,” Scorpius said quietly.

“It’s not…It’s not the band I like. Not really.”

Scorpius frowned. “Well, what is it? Why do you have a draw full of pictures? You had at least ten different posters of that blondie up there. Why have those if you don’t— Wait—”

Albus screwed his face up and whined pitifully.

“Oh. My. Gosh. Do you fancy him? You fancy Blondie McTightTrousers?” Scorpius cried, jiggling up and down.

“Shhhhhhh! Shut up!”

“But I didn’t— You’re not— Are you? Are we both—?” Scorpius was so excited by this new development, he could barely function.

“I don’t know, okay? And…it’s not really  _ him _ I like…” Albus paused and Scorpius held his breath waiting for what he hoped would come next. He was dimly aware of the crowd behind him counting down.

“Who do you like?” Scorpius urged softly.

Albus looked up and met his eyes for the first time since before their hug—which was technically still continuing since neither had let go yet, Scorpius thought abstractedly. “You, Scorp. I like you.”

Scorpius grinned, his heart full to bursting. The crowd around them cheered as thousands of Christmas lights flared to life, and Scorpius carefully leant down, pressing his lips to Albus’. All around them people were celebrating and singing carols and gasping at the Christmas lights, but Scorpius only had room in his head for Albus. His best friend who liked him back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Find me on tumblr @ [coriesocks](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/coriesocks)


End file.
